CHAPTER TWELVE: MOTHER KAIRI PART ONE
It was another evening on the isle of Destiny Islands as dusk came slowly to the skies. A beautiful sunset swathed across the heavens in a radiant glow over the warm seas.
The image of the sun reflected on the surface of the ocean…a wash…a glow…and then an explosion of blended tangerine and crimson as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon.
The squawks of the seagulls could be heard sounding their squadrons from afar, their white silhouettes hovering above the sea. There were also a few kingfishers flying in precision alongside the seagulls. Once in a while one or two kingfishers would swoop down and snatch a few flying fish that had come to the surface. Apart from the fleets of seagulls and kingfishers, there were also many turtles on the ocean.
Since it was the middle of February, many Chelonia mydas (or green sea turtles) would come to Destiny Island during their mating season. Unlike most isles where the green sea turtles only mate during the months of June and September, the Chelonia mydas of Destiny Island come to the seas where the males and female commence with their sacred mating ritual.
Following the lengthy mating ritual with their male mates, the female green sea turtles would then haul themselves onto the beaches of the Destiny Island above the high tide line.
Upon reaching a suitable nesting ground, the gravid female Chelonia mydas would dig holes with their hind flippers and deposit a number of eggs (ranging from seventy to one hundred and thirty) before covering their nests with sand (to conceal their babies from predators) and returning to the sea.
The shores of Destiny Island were lined with many green sea turtle nests, each hidden in a specific spot. One nest in particular was hidden behind a pair of boulders on the beach near a white beach house. This beach house belonged to the Aoiro family, home to Kairi. Kairi was down at the beach-shore that very evening. The red-head had discovered the nest of turtle eggs that was hidden behind the boulders.
Now Kairi sat cross-legged near the nest of turtle eggs armed with a green-covered Turtle Guidebook and a pair of binoculars. Even though she was sitting close to the nest, Kairi stared at each tiny turtle through her binoculars.
There were at least eighty eggs in the nest and each were the size of ping-pong balls.
"Hatch! Come on little eggies! Hatch already!" said an impatient Kairi as she stared at one egg through her binoculars.
"Kairi? Kairi where are you?" called a voice. A lady was walking down to the beach from Kairi's home. The lady had crimson red hair, similar to Kairi's, chocolate brown eyes and was wearing a baby blue sleeveless mini-T with a pair of matching blue track pants and blue sandals. Kairi waved to this one lady as she approached her. She was her mother.
"Here I am mommy," Kairi called.
"Kairi, what are you doing out here so late? You know that you're not supposed to be outside after sunset," said Mrs. Aoiro looking at her daughter seriously with her hands on her hips.
Kairi looked at mother sweetly. "I know that mommy but...can I please stay out late today?" Kairi implored, "Today is the big day!"
"Big day for what?" asked Mrs. Aoiro.
"The day when the turtle eggs hatch," Kairi answered indicating the nest of turtle eggs.
Mrs. Aoiro looked from the egg nest and then back to her daughter. "Aw Kairi not the turtle eggs again," said Mrs. Aoiro restlessly, "It's the fourth time this week! When are you going to realize that these turtle eggs are not ready to hatch as yet?"
"But they are ready to hatch mommy," Kairi said, "it's been forty-six days and according to my Turtle Guidebook turtle eggs hatch after at least forty-five or seventy-five days so these eggies are bound to hatch now, right? The book said so,"
Kairi showed her mother her Turtle Guidebook. Mrs. Aoiro took the green book in her hands and skimmed through the pages.
"A Beginner's Guide to Turtles?" Mrs. Aoiro said, reading the words on the front cover of the book.
"Yeah! It's got pictures too! See!?" Kairi pointed out some of the pictures of the guidebook. "Look at all the cute baby turtles," Kairi said, "I've always wanted to see a real baby turtle up close and now I am,"
Mrs. Aoiro sighed. "Why did I let your father buy you this book? I should have let him buy you that Barbie Doll instead," said Mrs. Aoiro.
"No mommy I'm glad that daddy got me this book. Now I know a lot about turtles and their babies too. That's why I have to see these turtle eggies hatch. I just gotta!" Kairi said.
"You really care about these turtles, don't you?" Mrs. Aoiro asked.
"I do," Kairi answered, "after all who do you thinks been taking care of these eggies while their mommy and daddy are out at sea? The sand crabs?"
Mrs. Aoiro giggled.
"No I'm serious. Do you know how many seagulls I had to chase away this week just to save these eggs, I still have the scars to prove it," Kairi said hysterically. She then calmed down and stared at the turtle eggs. A considerate smile crossed Kairi's lips and her eyes softened. "But really these eggies mean the world to me," Kairi said soothingly. She picked up one of the eggs and stroked it gently with her finger. "I just can't wait...once these eggs hatch...it'll be great," Kairi said with a loving smile.
Mrs. Aoiro looked at the look of maternity hinted on her daughter's face and smiled.
"Well if these eggs are that special to you then maybe you should stay out and watch them hatch," Mrs. Aoiro said.
"Really!?" Kairi squealed in excitement.
"Yes but only until the eggs have hatched, once the baby turtles have made it safely to the water you come straight home little miss, understand?" Mrs. Aoiro said.
"Most definitely!" Kairi answered with a little salute. The red-head then twirled and did a small dance with the egg she was stroking earlier still in her hand. "Whoohoo! Hear that little eggie? Your aunt Kairi is gonna get to see you and all of your brothers and sisters hatch today and don't worry about those nasty seagulls, I'll protect all of you with all my heart," Kairi said blissfully.
Mrs. Aoiro looked to Kairi and beamed at her. A sigh escaped her lips.
"What is it mommy?" Kairi inquired her mother.
"Nothing my little cherry-top but...it's just that...you' truly love these turtle eggs and you've done such a good job protecting them all this time too. With those maternal instincts you'll make a fine mother someday Kairi," said Mrs. Aoiro.
"A fine...mother? What do you mean?" Kairi asked confusedly.
"You'll understand what I mean when you're older and have become a woman," Mrs. Aoiro replied.
"But...I am a woman mommy, right?" Kairi asked.
Mrs. Aoiro gave a hearted laugh and ruffled her daughter's dark red locks. "Yeah sure," she said sarcastically. Mrs. Aoiro looked out into the ocean. By that time the sun had vanished and the once tangerine and pink sky was replaced with a shadow of cobalt tinted with a few sparkles of white light indicating nightfall and welcoming the moon to the heavens.
"Well there goes the sun," Mrs. Aoiro said flatly, "I better get going,"
"Going where?" Kairi asked watching her mother rise to her feet.
"Your father and I are going to the grocery store," Mrs. Aoiro explained, "and since you won't be able to join us since you have to watch the turtle eggs hatch and all, would you like me to bring you back a treat?"
"Most definitely! Could I have a coconut and chocolate ice-cream sandwich?" Kairi asked.
"Of course. Anything for my sweet little cherry-top," said Mrs. Aoiro pinching Kairi's pink cheeks. Kairi laughed and smiled at her mother.
BEEP! BEEP!
A car horn sounded and a white Jaguar pulled up outside the beach-house. A man with dirty blondish hair and oceanic blue eyes waved from the window of the car. Mrs. Aoiro smiled.
"That's your father. I better get going," Mrs. Aoiro. She turned to Kairi. "Now your father and I will only be gone for a few minutes. In the meantime I want you to stay safe Kairi, now what has mommy told you to do when we leave you alone?"
"Don't open the door for anyone unless they're family, friends of the family or my friends," Kairi answered.
"And what do you do when a stranger tries to attack you?" Mrs. Aoiro asked.
"Kick them where it really hurts and run away," Kairi answered.
"That's my little cherry-top," said Mrs. Aoiro giving Kairi a kiss on the forehead. "Adieu," Mrs. Aoiro walked off with a wave of farewell to her daughter. Kairi returned the wave to her mother as she watched her leave. "Bye mommy!" she yelled.
Once the white Jaguar belonging to her father had drove off, Kairi returned her attention back to the nest of turtle eggs. Giggling, Kairi returned the one egg she held to its place in the nest with a perky grin. "It won't be long now," Kairi said, "Soon these eggies will hatch, I just know it...any minute now they'll hatch and baby turtles will be born!"
Half an hour passed. Kairi still sat despondently down at the beach with her legs hugged up to her chest as she stared languorously at the nest of turtle eggs which had not hatched yet.
"Maybe I should have invited the guys over to watch the egg-hatching with me," Kairi sighed, "it would have made the wait a lot more fun,"
"Hey Kairi!!!!" a voice shouted. It belonged to Sora. The brunette was racing across the shoreline towards where Kairi sat wearing his trademark goofy grin. Kairi looked in the direction the voice was calling her and when she saw that it was Sora, the red-head inwardly did a back flip. "Hey Sora," Kairi greeted her friend with a humble smile, "what are you doing out here?"
"My mom and I just got back from the north side of the island," Sora answered, "we went fishing today and I caught a shark! Well technically it was a yellowtail but if you didn't know what a shark looked like then you might have thought it was a shark,"
Kairi giggled. "Yeah sure," she said wryly.
"What are you doing out here Kairi?" Sora asked taking a seat beside his friend.
"I'm waiting for these turtle eggies to hatch," Kairi answered showing Sora the nest of eggs.
"Oh I forgot, it's turtle nesting season this month, isn't it?" Sora said and Kairi nodded. Sora moved closer to the nest and peered at each egg closely. "How long have these eggs been here?" Sora inquired.
"For about forty-six days," Kairi answered.
"Well they're supposed to have hatched by now," Sora said.
"I know but it's already been half an hour and none of them have hatched," Kairi said sadly.
"Don't worry Kairi they'll hatch sooner or later. You just have to be patient," Sora said with a confident grin.
"I guess you're right. Thanks Sora," Kairi said.
"No prob," Sora answered, his grin never leaving his face.
"SORA SWEETIE! TIME TO GO HOME!" A blue-haired woman waved to Sora from a wooden canoe out in the ocean that was piled with fish. It was Mrs. Kumo, Sora's mother. Sora waved back to his mother before turning to Kairi.
"That's my mom calling. I gotta go," Sora said jumping to his feet.
Kairi nodded. "'Kay. I'll see you tomorrow," she said.
"About tomorrow, Riku wants everyone to meet him by the Couve first thing tomorrow morning," Sora said.
"What for?" Kairi asked.
"I dunno but he told me that he has a surprise for us," Sora said.
"Okay. I'll be there," Kairi said.
"Great. Well see ya," Sora said. With a wave of farewell, Sora left Kairi and headed back to his mother's boat.
"Bye Sora," Kairi yelled behind her friend, watching him leave her. When Sora was out of sight, Kairi angrily kicked up some sand. "Great, now I'm alone and bored again," Kairi pouted. Kairi glanced back to the egg nest.
"At this rate the eggs will never hatch," Kairi said boredly. She then got closer to the egg nest. Taking a deep breath, Kairi yelled at the eggs. "HATCH ALREADY!" Kairi bellowed. She was rewarded with not the slightest movement from either of the eggs. This, of course, infuriated Kairi.
"That's it! I'm going home!" Kairi yelled angrily. Snatching up her binoculars and her guidebook, Kairi arose to her feet. She turned and started walking back to her beach-house.
"I should have gone with mommy and daddy," Kairi said, "That chocolate and coconut ice-cream sandwich sounds pretty good right about now. I wonder if there's still any frozen popsicles left over in the freezer,"
Kairi had only walked a few meters when a loud cracking sound reached her ears. CRACK!
"Huh?" Kairi stopped dead in her tracks. She listened carefully for the strange noise. CRACK! Another cracking sound was heard followed by another then another and another. Immediately Kairi turned to the source of the sound and the red-head almost fainted at what she saw. Kairi slowly cupped her hands over her mouth. Lying in the turtle egg nest were not eggs but baby green sea turtles. Kairi just stared in amazement. The baby turtles were all very tiny, each at least five centimeters long with smooth oval shells. Their brownish yellow-green flippers flayed frantically against the soft sands and their lizard-like heads jerked upwards as each baby sea turtle took their first glance of the outside world after being ensnared inside their coarse eggshells for so long.
Kairi watched this scene from afar, her ocean-blue eyes reflecting her delight. At long last, she has finally gotten her wish: to experience the sight of baby sea-turtles being born before her very eyes and what a tremendous sight that was. The baby sea-turtles stayed clumped together in their nest. Even though there was a large number of them crammed into that one nest the baby Chelonia mydas still stayed as one with the company of their many siblings.
Not wishing to disturb or frighten the baby sea-turtles, Kairi stayed where she stood and watched the marine animals through her binoculars. For a short period, the baby Chelonia mydas laid in their nest, basking in the shade of their boulder and the moonlight of the night's moon...until one of the turtles; a male, decided to make a move. Squinting his beady black eyes around his current surroundings, this one turtle looked out into the ocean. Its cool waters were beckoning him towards the sea. Jerking his neck, the male turtle made a harsh groan which alerted his brothers and sisters.
With the enlarged curved claws on his front flippers gripped firmly to the ground underneath him, the male turtle slowly started moving towards the sea. Though young and defenseless, the one male turtle proved his strength and determination as he slithered across the sands leading down to the sea. The others turtles seemed to have taken pride in their sibling's action for they too started to crawl across the sands following in the path of their brother.
However as his brothers and sisters departed for the water, one turtle was left behind. Apparently this other male was born on his back and was now flapping his flippers in a frantic attempt to move and even though he cried out to his siblings, they paid no attention to him as they continued moving toward the sea. Kairi saw what was happening through her binoculars and gasped. "Oh no!" Dropping her binoculars, Kairi ran over to the nest. She knelt down before the helpless turtle and gently scooped it up in her hands.
"Easy there little guy. I'm not going to hurt you," Kairi reassured the small turtle as it cringed fearfully in her hands. Gently Kairi turned the turtle over and placed it to lie on its stomach on the sand.
"There you go," Kairi said. Now on its stomach the sea-turtle started moving across the sand but not before glancing up at Kairi first. The baby turtle bobbed its head at Kairi in gratitude before leaving towards the sea following his siblings.
"Bye! Bye! Bon Voyage!" Kairi yelled behind the turtles. Eventually the turtles all made it safely into the sea. Their smooth shells could be seen hovering just above the surface of the water before they all moved out, line in line, swimming out into the far regions of the water beyond the horizon line.
Once the turtles could be seen no more through her eyes, Kairi sighed and clapped her hands.
"That was great," Kairi said, "those turtles were so cute. I can't wait to tell mommy and daddy about this,"
Kairi was about to leave for her house when her foot suddenly mashed something. "Huh?" Kairi lifted her foot and peered at what she had mashed. To Kairi's surprise...it was a turtle egg!!
"Oh no!" Kairi scooped up the tiny egg and looked at it closely. Fortunately for Kairi, the egg was unharmed.
"Phew! Thank goodness the egg is alright," Kairi said in relief, "hmm what's this egg doing here when the others have hatched?" Then it hit Kairi. "Oh no!" Kairi screamed.
At that moment, the red-head raced out to the sea. She had reached the shoreline when she stopped. Kairi looked out into the ocean, squinting her eyes for the slightest sign of the school of baby sea-turtles. When Kairi saw the turtles far out at sea, she jumped up and down waving her arms desperately.
"WAIT! HEY WAIT TURTLES! YOU FORGOT YOU BROTHER OR SISTER!" Kairi shouted.
The baby sea-turtles continued their swim out to sea, paying no attention to Kairi's shouts. Kairi screamed herself breathless yelling to the sea-turtles but it was no use; the sea-turtles were too far out at sea and eventually their green silhouettes plunged into the deep water and into the dark depths of the ocean.
"WAIT! You forgot your brother or sister!" Kairi screamed, "You---forgot your brother---or---sister!" Kairi slumped onto the ground and sighed. She still held the baby turtle egg in her hands and looked at it sadly.
"What am I going to do? I just can't leave this poor egg here alone," Kairi said. Kairi held the egg up to the sky. Its pearly-white outer shell glistened brightly in the moonlight. Kairi sighed and hugged the egg up to her chest.
'I can't leave this little eggie out here by itself. It'll die,' Kairi thought, 'there's got to be something that I can do,'
The answer hit Kairi like a slap!
"I know!"
The following morning, Tidus, Wakka, Selphie and Sora met at the beach and took a trip to the Couve of Destiny Island. The Couve was located on the southern side of the islet, opposite the Lazuli Beaches behind the Suton Residence where Riku lived. Riku's estate was the largest house on the island (mainly because his parents were both very wealthy) so his house wasn't that hard to find. When Selphie, Sora, Tidus and Wakka had arrived at the Couve, they found Riku sitting out on the veranda outside his beach-house. When the lavender-haired youngling spotted his friends coming his way, Riku waved and ran down to meet them at the entrance to his home.
"You came!" Riku cheered, opening the front gate, allowing his friends to come inside.
"Of course we came silly, you invited us remember," Tidus said ruffling Riku's hair playfully as he entered. Riku laughed. "'Course," he said.
"So Riku, what's the big surprise that you got for us?" Wakka asked.
"Nothing much except that it's the best thing that a kid would want," Riku said.
"Oh! Is it a muzzle for Selphie?" Tidus said sarcastically.
"Is it a brain surgeon for Tidus?" Selphie said.
"I don't need a brain surgeon," Tidus growled glaring at Selphie.
"And I don't need a muzzle," Selphie retorted.
Riku cleared his throat. "Ahem!" he said harshly, immediately parting both Tidus and Selphie before their quarrel got worst. "As I was saying before I was interrupted," Riku continued shooting glares at Selphie and Tidus, "My dad built something for us that's really, really cool but...you'll have to guess what it is inorder to see it,"
"Ooh charades! I love charades!" Selphie cheered cheerfully.
"I'll give you guys a hint," Riku said, "what's big and we all live in it,"
"I know! I know! The answer is the whole wide world cause the world is big and we all live in it," Sora replied smartly.
"That's not a bad answer Sora but I'm afraid it's wrong," Riku said, "guess again,"
"Hmm that one's a real tough one" Selphie said scratching her head in thought, "what is big and we all live in it?"
Wakka looked around. The answer was right infront of his face and Wakka grinned. "I know. It's a house," Wakka replied.
"Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!" Riku said.
"Good job Wakka," Selphie said.
"So let me get this straight, your dad built us a house?!" Tidus said in disbelief.
"Not just any house Tidus," Riku said with a toothy grin, "just take a look up there in that one tree," Riku pointed a finger up to a giant sycamore tree that was close to his house. Despite its youthful brown wood and its evergreen leaves, hidden within the cluster of leaves and tree stars was a small wooden house, big enough for several young children. A rope ladder dangled from the small wooden porch of the treehouse to the bottom of the ground. An old tire was made into a swing by a rope that was tied to a branch of the tree and was swaying back and forth in the morning winds.
Riku smiled at the grand treehouse perched in the tree and then looked to his friends who all had awed expressions on their faces while gawking at the treehouse. Their reactions only made Riku smile more.
"Wow Riku, you're dad built a treehouse!" Tidus said.
"Yup. He's been working on it for weeks now. Just finished building it yesterday," Riku said.
"That's awesome Riku. You've got a treehouse," Selphie said.
"Correction my friend, that treehouse is ours," Riku said, "It's even got a tire swing,"
"Sweet man!" Wakka said slapping Riku a high five.
"Let's check it out!" Sora said.
"This is incredible," Selphie said. She, Tidus, Wakka, Sora and Riku were up in the treehouse together. The inside of the treehouse was more spacious than what the others had anticipated from its small exterior.
On the interior of the treehouse there were opened windows for looking out and getting a good view of the beach and six multi-coloured inflatable chairs for seating. There was even a purple carpet decorating the floor in addition to a few other indoor accessories like a bookcase, a mini-TV set and a fridge.
"Hey I can see the whole island from here," Sora said looking out of one of the windows in the treehouse.
"Me too and I can even see your house Sora," Selphie said.
"Really? Awesome!" Sora cheered.
"When you two are done sightseeing check out the snack-pile. Do you know that there's a refrigerator in here too," said Tidus. Both he and Wakka were raiding the fridge that was near the bookcase.
"Wow Riku, you've got treehouse food too," Wakka said rummaging through the fridge, "there are ice-cream, ice-cream sandwiches, frozen yogurts, frozen popsicles, frozen fudgies and juicies, juice boxes and...milk?"
Tidus took out a milk box and looked at Riku inquiringly. "Why do you have milk? You hate milk Riku, it's make you fart," Tidus said.
"Duh! Don't you think I know that?! Besides the milk boxes aren't for me, they're for you guys," Riku explained, "the juice boxes are for me but if you want a juice box then you can take one just remember to save one for me, capiche?"
"Alright," Tidus said. He opened the milk box and started drinking from it while Wakka licked a frozen popsicle.
"Hey look! There's Kairi," Riku shouted. He was out on the porch where he had just spotted the form of Kairi coming through his front gate. "Hey Kairi! Up here!" Riku called waving to the red-head.
Two minutes later Kairi had climbed up the rope ladder and joined Riku on the porch where she was greeted by Sora.
"Hey Kairi! Guess what? Riku's dad built us this tree---"Before he could finished his sentence, Sora's voice was muffled by Kairi who had suddenly clamped his hand over Sora's mouth. Sora pulled Kairi's hand off his mouth and frowned at her.
"Hey! What's the big---"Sora trailed off. Once again Kairi had covered his mouth and looked at him seriously. "Shush! Don't talk so loud Sora or you'll wake the baby," Kairi whispered softly, uncovering Sora's mouth.
"Oops sorry Kairi," Sora apologized. The spiky-brunette did a double-take.
"Wait a minute, what baby?" Sora asked.
"This baby," Kairi said. She was holding a wrapped bundle in her hands and uncovering the bundle, Kairi revealed it to be a tiny egg. Both Sora and Riku did an anime-fall.
"Um...Kairi sorry to disappoint you but that's no baby. That's a chicken egg," Riku stated.
"I know that and actually it's a turtle egg," Kairi said stroking the egg soothingly with her finger, "this egg is from the nest that was outside my house. Yesterday the other eggs hatched and swam out to sea but this little guy was left behind,"
"That's horrible!" Sora said.
"No it's strange. How come this egg hasn't hatched as yet?" Riku questioned.
"I don't know. All I know is that I couldn't have left it alone by itself so I decided to take it in and try and hatch it myself," Kairi said.
"That was a nice thing to do Kairi but do you even how to hatch a turtle egg?" Riku asked.
"Um...not really," Kairi answered, "I tried yesterday night but nothing in my turtle guidebook mentions anything about hatching turtle eggs,"
"Well my dad left some encyclopedias on the bookshelf in the treehouse so they might be able to help somehow," Riku said.
"Hey what are you three discussing without us?" Selphie asked as she walked out onto the porch with Tidus and Wakka.
"Kairi found a baby turtle egg that was left behind by its brothers and sisters after they hatched yesterday," Sora explained. Kairi showed the egg to Tidus, Wakka and Selphie.
"I don't get it. If an entire nest of eggs hatched yesterday then what's taking this one so long to hatch?" Wakka asked.
"That's what I'd like to know," Riku said.
"That's not what's important now; what's really important is helping this eggie to hatch," Kairi said.
"She's right," Riku said, "'let's try to hatch the egg. Wakka can you bring us a book from the bookshelf that helps with turtle hatching,"
"Sure," Wakka said. He went inside the treehouse and came back out with a giant orange-covered book.
"Here's one. 'One Hundred Ways to Hatch Different Species of Eggs'," Wakka said reading the title of the book. He dropped the book infront of Riku who bent down and started flipping through the different chapters of the book.
"Let's see...Alligator Eggs...Chicken Eggs...Duck Eggs...blah, blah eggs...Sea gull eggs...snake eggs...AHA! Here it is! Turtle Eggs," Riku said triumphantly, stopping at a chapter with a picture of a sea-turtle at the introduction.
"Read what it says Riku," Kairi said.
"According to the book," Riku read, "one way to hatching a turtle egg is to place it in an upright position and..."
"And what?" Selphie asked.
"...and repeatedly thump it with a hammer until it hatches," Riku said.
"Oh! I love smashing things! I'll get the hammer!" Tidus jeered.
"No you don't," Selphie stops Tidus. "No one is hitting the egg with a hammer. You might hurt the baby," Selphie said.
"Selphie's right. Is there any other way to hatch the egg Riku? One that doesn't involve hurting it?" Kairi asked.
"To be honest, no," Riku answered, "Infact the other way states to fry the egg in a frying pan,"
"Is that a guidebook or a cookbook?" Selphie said.
Riku shrugged. "That's what it says," he said. Kairi sighed. "Great, now how are we going to hatch this little egg without totally hurting it?" Kairi asked rubbing the egg against her cheek.
"Let's take a more logical approach," Riku said, "I've seen this method with baby chickens and since both turtles and chickens come from eggs it might just work,"
"What?" The others looked at Riku confusedly. Ignoring his friends' puzzled looks, Riku walked into the treehouse. There were several clanks and crashes until the noises stopped and Riku called his friends inside. When Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, Sora and Kairi walked inside the treehouse they found Riku standing next to a giant basket cushioned with soft pillows and blankets.
"What's with the basket eh?" Wakka asked curiously.
"It's for hatching the egg," Riku answered. He walked over and took the egg bundle from Kairi. Walking over to the basket, Riku cushioned the egg between a few pillows and covered it with another blanket. When he was done, Riku turned to his friends. "Alright, I've seen this with chickens and how they hatch their eggs so it might work," Riku said, "I need someone to sit ontop the egg until it hatches,"
"Oh! Lemme do it!" Selphie said raising her hand to volunteer.
"Nuh-uh! Your fat butt might crush the egg," Tidus snorted.
"I do not have a fat butt," Selphie retorted. "Do I? "She asked looking to Wakka who immediately shook his head.
"Can we please just pick someone to sit on the egg?" Riku said impatiently.
"I vote for Kairi," Sora said, "Since she's the one who found the egg then she should sit on it,"
"Fair enough. Kairi sit on the egg," Riku said.
Kairi walked up to the basket. Finding a suitable position that was comfortable for her, Kairi sat down in the basket making sure that she wasn't crushing the egg. When everything was clear, Kairi looked to Riku.
"Riku, how long do I have to stay like this?" Kairi asked.
"Until the egg hatches," Riku answered.
"How long will that take?" Sora asked.
"About a day, maybe a week or a month...heck it might even take two years," Riku wryly stated.
"RIKU!!" Kairi bellowed.
"I'm just kidding Kairi," Riku said, "I bet it'll only take a few minutes,"
A FEW MINUTES AND ONE LONG HOUR LATER...
"Any luck yet?" Selphie asked. She sat on an inflatable seat beside Kairi who still sitting in the basket. Kairi stood up for the umpteenth time that day and checked the egg.
Still, like the previous times she had checked, the egg had not hatched. Not even a teensy crack was made.
Kairi sighed. "Nope no luck," she said.
"AW PICKLES!" Sora groaned sinking deeper into his inflatable seat.
"I don't get it. Riku you said that this egg-hatching thing will only take a few minutes," Tidus drawled.
"What do I know about hatching turtles? I'm only 4 ½ years old besides I'm not Father Time y'know," Riku said.
"Father who?" Tidus asked.
"Aw forget it," Riku groaned monotonously.
"This is endless!" Wakka griped. He had finished building a miniature house out of all the sticks from the popsicles he had eaten in the past time and sat staring boredly at his so-called masterpiece.
"I'm sorry I got you guys into this mess," Kairi said.
"Aw don't say that Kairi. It's not your fault that we're totally bored even in our new treehouse," said Tidus with a wry smile.
"Yeah we don't blame you entirely for our boredom, we only blame you for half," Sora dryly said.
"Gee thanks," Kairi said, "You know you guys don't have to be bored up here. You should go out and play on the tire swing and I'll stay up here and take care of the----OW!"
"The OW? Don't you mean the egg?" Selphie said.
"No something just poked me," Kairi said rubbing her backside. "OW! There it is again," Kairi said, "it's coming from under me,"
Kairi stood up and when she looked down at the basket, her eyes widened. Something was moving about between the pillows and when Kairi removed the blanket she saw that it was the egg that was moving. The small ping-pong ball sized orb was rolling about in the basket and loud cracking noises were made as the outer shell of the egg slowly started to break.
Kairi's mouth hung open.
"G---Guys! Come quick!" Kairi yelled.
"What's wrong now Kairi?" Wakka asked boredly while absentmindedly poking his Popsicle stick-house with his finger.
"It's the egg! It's hatching!" Kairi screamed.
"WHAT!!!"
At once, Selphie, Tidus, Wakka, Riku and Sora jumped out of their seats and cornered around the basket with Kairi. The six watched with intrigued faces as the egg continued to hatch itself. With every strident crack made, a different part of the egg's outer shell began to rupture as the baby within tried desperately to liberate itself.
Suddenly a chunk of the egg's shell broke off leaving an opened gap in its crust. Sora, Selphie, Riku, Kairi, Tidus and Wakka all leaned in closer and peered at the inside of the gap in the shell. At first no further movement came from the interior of the shell but then something popped out of the shell.
"Is that the head?" Wakka asked examining what had came out of the shell.
"I think that's the leg," Riku stated.
It was a leg however the leg was flat and shaped like a flipper. Another piece of the egg's shell broke off and another leg came out.
"Come on little guy. You can do it!" Kairi said encouragingly. More punctures were made in the outer shell and then there was one loud CRACK! The entire outer shell of the egg broke apart revealing a tiny baby Chelonia mydas. The newborn green sea turtle laid cushioned between the pillows with its brownish, yellow-green flippers curled up to its lizard-like neck and its oval shell strapped to its back. Kairi, Riku, Selphie, Sora, Tidus and Wakka moved a bit closer to the turtle to get a better look at it. The baby Chelonia mydas was so small and its eyes were closed as it laid immobile between the soft pillows.
"It's SO ADORABLE!" Selphie cooed sweetly.
"I don't know. Is the baby turtle going to be alright Riku, it's not moving," Kairi said looking to the turtle in worry.
"Well it takes a while for newborn turtles to wake up after their birth especially in this one's case," Riku said, "once it gets use to its new surroundings I'm sure it'll wake up,"
Kairi nodded understandably. She looked to the baby turtle. Little movement came from the marine animal but after a few seconds of sleeping, it started to move.
The little turtle raised its head slightly and opened its eyes for the first time. A soft moan escaped the toothless lips of the young turtle; it glanced around its current surroundings looking from the ceiling to the basket it laid in and then its bright green optics fell on Sora, Selphie, Tidus, Wakka, Kairi and Riku.
"Hey the turtle's looking at us," Sora pointed out.
"Hello there little guy. I'm Kairi," Kairi said. She raised a finger to tickle the turtle's neck however the baby Chelonia mydas inched away from Kairi's finger, cringing. "Don't be afraid of me and my friends little turtle," Kairi said reassuringly, "none of us are going to hurt you especially me,"
Kairi gently stroke the turtle on the top of its head with her finger. Looking into Kairi's innocent face, the turtle returned its thanks by licking Kairi's finger and rubbing its neck against it affectionately.
"Well look at that. I think he likes you Kairi," Tidus said.
"He? How are you so sure that he----I mean the turtle is a boy and not a girl," Selphie said.
"Because I said so," Tidus replied.
"That's makes absolutely no sense what so ever," Selphie bellowed, "I say that the turtle is a girl,"
"No he's a boy," Tidus argued.
"Girl," Selphie retorted.
"Boy!" Tidus yelled.
"GIRL!" Selphie screamed.
"BOY!" Tidus shouted.
"Tidus, Selphie stop arguing! You'll upset the baby," Riku said.
"We just want to know if it's a boy or a girl," Tidus said.
"I know how we can tell if it's a boy or a girl," Kairi said. She carefully picked up the turtle and held it above her face. Kairi looked underneath the turtle at its bottom shell.
"You were right Tidus. This turtle is a bouncing baby boy," Kairi said.
"AHA! I told you," Tidus taunted sticking his tongue out at Selphie.
Selphie rolled her eyes. "But how Kairi? How'd you know that the turtle's a boy?" Selphie asked.
"Well its bottom shell is concave meaning that its kinda caves in at the bottom," Kairi said.
"So?"
"So if a turtle's bottom-shell is concave then it's a boy," Kairi explained, "only when the bottom-shell is convex or protruding out then it's a girl,"
"How'd you know that?" Wakka asked.
"I read it in my turtle guidebook," Kairi answered.
"So this little guy is a boy eh," Sora said. He tickled the baby turtle underneath its neck making it coo and laugh. "Ha! It's so cute," Sora said, "what are we going to name him? He's gotta have a name,"
"I know. Let's name him Lanseloth, like the brave knight," Kairi suggested.
"Lanseloth? What kind of corny name is that?" Tidus huffed.
"It's not corny, I think that Lanseloth is a good name for our new turtle friend," Sora said.
"Says the boy whose name is Sora," Tidus said flatly. He was rewarded with a spitted raspberry from Sora.
"Well I think the name Lanseloth is good for a turtle," Kairi said. "You like the name Lanseloth, don't you boy?" Kairi said looking to the baby turtle. The turtle bobbed its lizard-like head and licked the surface of Kairi's fingers again. Kairi giggled giddily, the touch of the turtle's tongue tickling her fingers.
"I'll take that as a yes," Kairi laughed.
"Then it's settled, the turtle's name is Lanseloth," Riku said.
"Welcome to our family Lanseloth," Selphie said stroking the top of Lanseloth's head much to his enjoyment.
"Y'know since we're a family and all, Kairi you should be Lanseloth's mommy because you hatched him," Sora said.
"Lanseloth's...mommy?" Kairi repeated softly.
She then remembered what her mother had told her the day before, the words playing in her mind.
With those maternal instincts you'll make a fine mother someday Kairi
'A fine mother,' Kairi thought with a small smile. "Yeah I am like Lanseloth's mother and he's my baby," Kairi said perkily, "and...Sora?"
"Yes?" Sora looked at Kairi. Kairi's face was bright pink as she looked at Sora with a broad smile. "Um...Sora, since I'm Lanseloth's mommy would you...would you like to be the daddy?" Kairi asked hopefully.
"His daddy," Sora repeated but then he smiled at Kairi. "I'd be honored to be Lanseloth's daddy," Sora said.
"What! How come Sora gets to be the daddy and not me?" Tidus said angrily.
"Because Sora is nice and doesn't have a sugar problem like a certain someone we all know," Selphie replied, "besides the last thing we want for widdle Lanseloth is for him to become a helpless sugarholic like you!"
"I DO NOT have a sugar problem and I am NOT a helpless sugarholic," Tidus argued. He then sniffed the air. "Is that a Kiwi popsicle I smell?" Tidus said.
"Um...no," Wakka said, hiding the Kiwi-flavoured that he was eating from Tidus.
Selphie shook her head. "See? Only a sugarholic could smell a Popsicle from afar and know its exact flavor," Selphie said, "I rest my case,"
Tidus pouted at Selphie. Kairi sweatdropped. "Lanseloth, I'd like you to meet your new family," Kairi said, "Here are your Uncles Wakka, Riku and Tidus," Kairi indicated Tidus, Wakka and Riku who each petted Lanseloth on his head.
"Your aunt Selphie and your daddy Sora," Kairi held Lanseloth up to Sora and Selphie who both tickled him underneath his neck.
"And last but not least I'm Kairi, your mommy," Kairi said hugging Lanseloth up to her chest. Lanseloth cooed in her arms but then he started to nip at Kairi's skin. Fortunately, he didn't have any teeth.
"What's wrong Lanseloth?" Kairi asked looking at the sea turtle as he continued to nip at her skin.
"He's probably hungry," Wakka said.
"Is that it Lanseloth? Are you hungry?" Kairi questioned the turtle. Lanseloth bobbed his head.
"I guess he is hungry but what do baby sea-turtles eat?" Kairi asked.
"They often eat seaweed and algae," Riku answered.
"And where in the world are we supposed to find that?" Selphie asked with her hands on her hips.
"In the sea," Riku replied flatly.
"I don't think any of us is willing to swim to the bottom of the ocean just to get Lanseloth some seaweed and whatever that other thing he eats is," Tidus grumbled.
"So then what will Lanseloth eat? We can't just leave him hungry," Kairi said.
"I know! Let's give him milk," Sora suggested. He went to the refrigerator and brought out a milk box. Pouring out some of the milk into a dish Sora bought it before Lanseloth. "Here Lanseloth drink some of this," Sora said holding the dish up to Lanseloth's mouth. The turtle stared at the contents of the milk with curious eyes.
Riku, on the other hand, slapped his forehead. "Sora, are you nuts?" Riku said, "Why are you giving milk to a baby turtle?"
"Because Lanseloth is a baby and babies need milk to grow big and strong. That's what my mommy tells me," Sora said.
"That's true Sora but Lanseloth is an amphibian, not a mammal like us," Riku said, "So turtles do not drink milk,"
"I don't think Lanseloth is listening to you Riku cause he seems to like the milk," Sora said.
"What?" Riku looked to Lanseloth and his eyes widened in disbelief. Surely enough, the turtle was licking away at the milk in the dish, clearing seeming to enjoy the creamy liquid. Riku just gawked.
"Wow! Lanseloth is drinking it, he's really drinking it," Tidus said.
"Look at him go. He must be really hungry," Wakka said.
"Aww! He looks so adorable eating," Selphie said.
"Wow! A turtle that drinks milk instead of eating seaweed and algae now that's a first," Riku said.
(A/N: Ha! Take that Integrated Science XP)
When Lanseloth was finished drinking the milk, after licking the dish dry, the baby green sea turtle flopped back in Kairi's hand licking his lips with a satisfied smile. A tiny burp escaped his lips before he peered cutely into Kairi's eyes.
"Aww he is SOOOO CUTE!" Selphie squealed.
Kairi giggled and stroked the top of Lanseloth's head. "You're going to fit in with us just fine Lanseloth," Kairi said and Lanseloth cooed.
For the rest of the day, Riku, Kairi, Sora, Selphie, Tidus and Wakka stayed up in the treehouse. The majority of their time was spent eating/drinking frozen treats, watching cartoons on the mini TV-set and most importantly of all playing with Lanseloth. The newborn green sea turtle was loads of fun to play with.
The gang played games with Lanseloth like peek-a-boo and even taught Lanseloth a few tricks like jumping through a hoop (while swimming in a tub of water), catching a ball and playing dead.
The fun-filled playing and scandalous laughter shared between the six friends and their new turtle pet continued for hours however when the sun fell and dusk came to the skies, everyone, except Riku, left the treehouse and departed for home. Selphie, Wakka, Tidus, Sora and Kairi went their separate ways; this left Kairi the one responsible for Lanseloth since she was the one who had hatched him and was respectfully his 'mother'.
Kairi didn't mind it at all, infact she was thrilled to take care of Lanseloth and took the turtle home to her bedroom.
"Welcome to my room Lanseloth," Kairi said. She flicked on the lights before entering her room with Lanseloth in hand.
Kairi's bedroom was a pink wonderland. Every corner and shanty of her room was painted ridiculously in different shades of pink. There were pink floorboards covered with Pink Panther carpeting; Pink wallpaper with pink heart-shaped angels on the barricades; Pink drapes covering the pink windowpanes; Pink bookshelves and even a pink Chester-draw equipped with a giant pink mirror with Kairi's name engraved in the pink wood.
Various collections of dolls (either stuffed or plastic-made) dressed in little pink dresses sat upon the pink shelves of a Pink mantelpiece hanging above Kairi's pink Chester-draw. There were also teddy-bears of different shapes and sizes scattered across the floors of Kairi's room, all of the same colour... (You guessed it) PINK!
However Kairi's favourite teddy-bear: Mr. Hugglekins was placed ontop of her bed. Kairi's bed was similar to the rest of her room.
It was a soft SERTA mattress covered with a light pink bed sheet and adorned with a lovely dark pink bedspread displaying the Disney Princess: Sleeping Beauty on the front. The usual assortments of pink fluffy pillows also decorated the surface of the bed and next to the two largest pillows sat Mr. Hugglekins himself at the edge of the bed, his pink fluffy fur and blue ribbon complementing the lovely pink ballerina night light twirling brightly on top of the pink dresser.
(A/N: Well at least by now we all know what Kairi's favourite colour is, right? XD)
Lanseloth blinked his aqua-blue orbs blankly as he stared around Kairi's pink room in deep curiosity.
"Isn't my room pretty Lanseloth? As you can tell, I like A LOT of pink," Kairi giggled. She plopped Lanseloth ontop of her bed.
"You just make yourself at home Lanseloth," Kairi said, "I'm gonna go change into my pjamees () until I get back Mr. Hugglekins will keep you company while I'm gone,"
With that Kairi left the room and went into the dressing room inside her bedroom.
While Kairi was changing, Lanseloth took one glance at Mr. Hugglekins.
To an average human a teddy-bear like Mr. Hugglekins would seem harmless but to a tiny turtle like Lanseloth, he would seem mighty scary.
When Kairi returned from the dressing room, she had changed out of her previous garments and now wore a pink Carebears pajama blouse with matching pink pajama pants. She had also changed her hairstyle for the night, combing it neatly into a ponytail tied with a pink ribbon.
"Alright Lanseloth, I'm back," Kairi said, "Lanseloth?"
When no response came from the turtle, Kairi went over to her bed only to realize that Lanseloth wasn't there.
"Lanseloth?" Kairi checked underneath her bed and between her piles of teddy-bears but Lanseloth was in neither of those places and Kairi started to worry.
"Where could Lanseloth be?" Kairi asked, "I left him lying on the bed. Lanseloth, where are----OH!"
Kairi almost jumped out of her skin as something cold and wet suddenly licked her toes. When Kairi looked down at her feet she heaved a sigh of relief.
It was Lanseloth. The tiny turtle cooed at Kairi and licked her toes playfully as he hid inside of a side of her bunny slippers.
"Oh Lanseloth you scared me," Kairi said, removing the tiny turtle from her bunny slipper and holding him carefully up to her face. Kairi then became seriously and frowned at Lanseloth squarely.
"Don't you ever worry me like that again Lanseloth," Kairi said harshly.
Lanseloth stared at the grave expression on Kairi's face before he licked her on the nose apologetically. This cause Kairi to giggle and her seriousness dissolved as she hugged Lanseloth up to her chest.
"Aw I can't stay mad at you Lanseloth. Come on, time to get you ready for bed," Kairi said, petting a cooing Lanseloth on the head (A/N: 0.o wow that kinda rhymed).
"...and the handsome prince and the beautiful princess lived happily ever after. The End," Kairi said. She had finished reading a bedtime story and closed the storybook, turning to Lanseloth. "Did you enjoy the story Lanseloth?" Kairi asked.
Lanseloth bobbed his head and clapped his flippers in applause.
Kairi had placed him inside a fishbowl of water which she had ontop of the dresser next to the Ballerina nightlight. Kairi had even placed a pink cotton sock inside the fishbowl for Lanseloth to sleep him in which he was snuggled into at the current moment. Kairi smiled at Lanseloth.
"I know you'd like the story Lanseloth," Kairi said, "It's one of my favourite stories. I especially like the ending," Kairi returned the storybook to its place on the bookshelf before flopping back in her bed with a tired yawn.
"Gosh I'm tired," Kairi said sleepily, "time for lights out,"
Kairi clapped her hands and automatically the lights in her room came off. With the lights off and the light of the Ballerina nightlight illuminating the room, Kairi sat at the edge of her bed looking at Lanseloth lying in the fishbowl.
"Y'know Lanseloth I'm really glad that you're here," Kairi said softly, "I'm lucky to have my friends to play with in the day but...during the night, it's kinda lonely since my mommy and daddy sleep over in the other room and I'm an only child but...you've changed that Lanseloth. Now I don't feel alone anymore. Thank you Lanseloth,"
Lanseloth cooed at Kairi and blew bubbles at her in the fishbowl. Kairi grinned.
"Y'know for such a small guy you've got a real big heart Lanseloth," Kairi continued, "but sometimes being small can be a big pain and little kids like me get picked on by other kids who are bigger than me but..." Kairi's voice became stern. "Don't worry Lanseloth, As your mommy I'm not gonna let anything bad happen to you," Kairi spoke seriously, "I promise,"
Lanseloth bobbed his head and cooed at Kairi. This made Kairi smile and her eyes brightened as she looked at Lanseloth.
"Now get some rest Lanseloth," Kairi said, "you've got a big day tomorrow with the guys. Now give your mommy a kiss,"
Kairi pressed his face against the surface of the fishbowl. Lanseloth cooed at Kairi blissfully before licking her printed face on the fishbowl. Kairi cracked at smile at the turtle before moving away from the fishbowl and climbing into her bed. Snuggling herself underneath the comforts of her bubble-gum pink covers, Kairi pulled the sheets over her chest and hugged Mr. Hugglekins.
Yawning drowsily, sleep starting to take its effect on her, Kairi slowly began to drift off the sleep but not before glancing at Lanseloth.
The green sea turtle was already sound asleep in his cotton sock bed.
"Goodnight Lanseloth," Kairi said, "I love you,"
Closing her eyes, Kairi cuddled herself up to Mr. Hugglekins and finally fell into a deep slumber.
The next day, Kairi got up and headed directly for the Couve after a hot breakfast. She was to meet the rest of the gang for another fun-filled day at the treehouse.
"I wonder what the guys got planned for us to do today Lanseloth. I'm sure it's something great," Kairi said. She smiled at Lanseloth. The baby turtle was sound asleep inside of his fishbowl and was snoozing soundlessly while Kairi pushed him around in a pink carriage.
The carriage had previously belonged to one of Kairi's stuffed dolls but Kairi had removed the doll and placed Lanseloth's bowl inside it instead. Kairi pushed the baby carriage all the way to Couve.
While walking down the bushy path toward the treehouse, Kairi spotted her friends by the treehouse in the far distance however when the red head arrived at the scene she was shocked to find all five of her comrades standing at the bottom of the treehouse engrossed in a rowdy argument against the bullies from their preschool: Mitchell, Butch and Cassidy.
Tidus and Riku were both screaming their lungs out at an annoyed Mitchell who was snorting at every remark that they made while Selphie, Wakka and Sora stood glaring daggers at the twins Butch and Cassidy who both mooned the three while they swung from the treehouse tire-swing.
"For the billionth time Mitchell, this is OUR treehouse so GET OUTTA HERE!" Riku yelled.
"Fat chance pipsqueaks," Mitchell snorted rudely, "this treehouse is OUR treehouse now!"
"No way Mitchell! Riku's dad built this treehouse for us so it's OURS!!" Tidus retorted.
"Sorry T—DUST but we found this treehouse," Mitchell said.
"Yeah!" Cassidy piped in, "so it's finders keepers..."
"And losers weepers! NYA! NYA!" Butch finished sticking his tongue out and shaking his bare butt at Sora, Wakka and Selphie much to their annoyance.
"NO FAIR!" Selphie screamed.
"What's going on here you guys?" Kairi asked entering the scene. Wakka turned to Kairi and looked at her with an exasperated face. "It's just Mitchell and his goons! They took over the treehouse!" Wakka explained.
"That's terrible!" Kairi said, "How are we gonna play with Lanseloth if we can't go in the treehouse?"
"You brought Lanseloth!" Wakka said.
"Yeah," Kairi answered, "I left him right in the-----"
"Hey what's in the carriage?" Butch asked. He had left his brother on the tire-swing and now stood next to the carriage containing Lanseloth. Butch peered at the carriage curiously before sticking his hands inside.
"Hey! Get out of there!" Kairi ordered.
Ignoring Kairi, Butch dug through the carriage until his hands touched something. "Huh?" Butch pulled his hands out of the carriage holding out the something he had touched.
Turns out the something was Lanseloth, who had now awoken from his slumber due to all the racket and the fact of being removed from his fishbowl.
Groggily, Lanseloth raised his head and looked into Butch's eyes.
"Aww what a cute turtle!" Butch said holding Lanseloth up to his face and smiling. "What's his name?" Butch asked.
"His name is Lanseloth," Kairi answered.
Butch's smile widened. "Hello there Lanseloth," Butch said, "Cochi, Cochi coo!" Butch turned Lanseloth on his back and tickled him on his stomach. The tickling made Lanseloth laugh softly and he licked Butch's finger playfully. Butch beamed at Lanseloth. Kairi, Selphie, Sora and Wakka, on the other hand, just stood gaping at Butch in awe. When did he get so nice??
"You're so adorable," Butch said, stroking Lanseloth on the head. "Turtles are so COOL!" Butch added but when he noticed the weird looks that his brother and Mitchell were giving him, Butch changed his mind and corrected himself.
"I mean...turtles are WEAK!" Butch snapped, "Especially this one!"
Butch tossed Lanseloth. The small turtle hovered in midair until he was caught by the hands of...Mitchell!
Mitchell clutched Lanseloth tightly in his hands. Lanseloth, who was already devastated by the feeling of being hurled about, stared fearfully into the cold eyes of Mitchell. "Whose turtle is this anyways?" Mitchell asked looking at Lanseloth squarely.
"He's mine Mitchell," Kairi answered, "now give him back!" Kairi made a grab for Lanseloth but Mitchell moved him out of her reach.
"So this is your turtle huh," Mitchell said. A wicked grin cracked across his face as he sneered at Kairi. "Aw look at the little beady size turtle. It's so puny----makes me wanna torture it!" Mitchell taunted, holding Lanseloth by his hind flipper much to his discomfort.
"Leave Lanseloth alone Mitchell! He's just a baby!" Sora shouted.
"OHO! So he's a baby huh, even better! No wonder he's so tiny!" Mitchell teased, "My dad would just love you! He's a chef so he'll probably cook this little shrimp and turn him into a nice bowl of turtle stew!"
"I love turtle stew!" Cassidy taunted.
Lanseloth griped and covered his face with his flippers, his whole body trembling with fear.
"Mitchell you are such a jerk!" Riku snapped stepping up to Mitchell.
"Yeah stop saying those things to Lanseloth. You're scaring him!" Selphie shouted.
"Yes Mitchell. Please leave Lanseloth alone, he's only one day old," Kairi said imploringly.
"Ha! You twerps are such NERDS!" Mitchell snorted, "Turtles aren't for babying! Turtles are for smashing and turning into food and this turtle here," Mitchell held up Lanseloth, "...looks so wimpy that I could just take a rock and crush em,"
Mitchell snatched up a rock that was lying near the tire-swing, sniggering wickedly. Sora saw what was coming next and immediately tried to stop Mitchell. "Leave Lanseloth alone Mitchell!" Sora shouted. He lunged at Mitchell but the bully moved out of the way just in time to see Sora crash to the ground lying flat on his face.
Snorting, Mitchell turned his attention back to the quivering Lanseloth clutched between his fingers.
"I wonder what'll happen if I dropped this rock on this puny turtle's head," Mitchell taunted, "I'll just have to find out,"
Mitchell slammed Lanseloth against into the dirt and held him down with his hand as he raised the giant rock over the turtle's head.
"Mitchell DON'T!" Sora groaned.
Mitchell gave a harsh laugh. Lanseloth tried to wriggle his way out of Mitchell's grasp but he was roughly rewarded with a sharp pain surging through his body as Mitchell tightened his hold around him.
"Don't even try to get away from me pipsqueak!" Mitchell growled, "Now hold still for a second! This won't hurt...much!"
Mitchell brought the rock down on Lanseloth. The sea turtle yelped and covered his face with his flippers as he awaited his doom. But before the rock could touch Lanseloth, a sharp voice yelled, "DROP THAT ROCK MITCHELL!"
Immediately, Mitchell stopped in mid-crush and turned to the source of the voice. It was Kairi who stood glaring at Mitchell with his arms crossed. Mitchell gritted his teeth and growled at Kairi.
"What...did you say?" Mitchell snarled.
"I said DROP THE ROCK MITCHELL!" Kairi repeated. "...OR ELSE!" she added threateningly. Mitchell dropped the rock and stood to his feet. He confronted Kairi glaring at her directly in the face.
Kairi; not intimidated by Mitchell's glare, stood her ground.
"Or else what?" Mitchell growled, "What's a sissy girl like you gonna do?"
Kairi didn't answer. She just glared at Mitchell and turned away.
"That's right you better walk away KAAAIRI!" Mitchell taunted, "Because you ain't nothing but a sissy girl and you can't do no-----"
Before Mitchell could have finished his sentence the next thing everyone knew, Mitchell was recoiled on the ground clutching his bleeding face Kairi had punched Mitchell...RIGHT in the nose!"
Sora, Riku, Wakka, Tidus and Selphie all gawked. Butch and Cassidy were just as surprised.
"Whoa!" Riku uttered.
Sora's jaw hung. "Did Kairi just----"
"She did," Tidus finished.
"Mitchell, are you alright?" Butch asked concernedly. He and Cassidy ran to Mitchell's side and helped him to his feet. Mitchell, on the other hand, was completely dumfounded by what had happened to him two seconds ago and he pointed an accusing finger at Kairi with his nose all runny with blood.
"She hit me! No one's ever hit me before!" Mitchell bellowed.
Tidus grinned. "Dude I can't believe you got socked by a girl!" Tidus said bursting into fits of laughter. Mitchell frowned at Tidus, his face turning red from embarrassment.
Lanseloth groaned. The young turtle had finally wriggled its way out of Mitchell's grasps and slithered over to Kairi who picked him up. Kairi petted Lanseloth (who was still a bit traumatized by what had happened to him previously) until he calmed down. Kairi then glowered at Mitchell who scowled her in return.
"LEAVE Mitchell!" Kairi ordered, "This is our treehouse, not yours and don't you ever let ME catch YOU and your goons around here again, got it!"
"Feh! And what if we don't wanna listen to you; you sissy—" Mitchell began but he stopped himself when he saw the look of seriousness on Kairi's face. Kairi sneered darkly and tightened her fists at Mitchell threateningly, which was enough to intimidate him (considering that she had just punched him).
Mitchell backed away from Kairi. "On second thought...I got it!" Mitchell shuddered.
"Good!" Kairi said, "NOW GET OUT OF HERE!"
Kairi stomped her feet at Mitchell. "Y—YES ma'am!" Mitchell screamed. Grabbing his friends, Mitchell ran away screaming like a little girl and dragging Butch and Cassidy alongwith him.
With Mitchell and the goons now gone, Kairi smiled triumphantly and turned to her friends with a proud smile. Her friends, conversely, were all gawking at her; the most shocked ones of all were Riku and Sora.
Kairi looked at her friends blankly.
"What?" Kairi asked.
"I thought I'd never say this but Kairi...you're hardcore!" Riku said, an impressed smile crossing his lips.
Kairi grinned. "Really?"
"Yup! It was awesome how you punched Mitchell in the nose!" Tidus said, "I mean you were like KAPOW! And Mitchell was all like OW! OW! I GOT HIT BY A GIRL! I NEED MY MOMMY!"
The others laughed.
"Thanks Tidus but was I really good?" Kairi asked.
"Nope you won't good. You were AWESOME!" Sora answered patting Kairi on the back.
Kairi blushed. "Thanks Sora," she said.
"I still can't believe that YOU punched MITCHELL Kairi," said Wakka in disbelief.
"Tell me Kairi, how did it feel to hit the big bully?" Selphie asked.
"To be honest it felt AWESOME!" Kairi said, "I know it was a harsh thing to do but I had to protect my baby, isn't that right Lanseloth?"
Kairi rubbed Lanseloth's face against her cheek. Lanseloth licked Kairi's cheek and bobbed his head in response to her remark.
"Uh...yeah," Riku said, "anyways at least you got Mitchell, Butch and Cassidy out of our treehouse. Now we can all go up,"
"Well what are we waiting for? I've got a Passion-Fruit flavoured popsicle up there with my name on it," Wakka said hungrily, being the first to climb up the ladder to the treehouse.
"Nah! No fair Wakka you ate all the popsicles the last time," Tidus said racing up the ladder behind Wakka.
"Yeah save some for the rest of us will ya!" Selphie called following after Tidus and Wakka. Riku followed too, climbing all the way up to the treehouse.
"Come on Lanseloth. Let's go up the treehouse together," Kairi said. Lanseloth bobbed his head. Placing the turtle back into his fishbowl, Kairi grabbed onto the ladder and was going to climb up to the treehouse when Sora stopped her.
"Um Kairi?" Sora asked.
"Yeah Sora?" Kairi glanced back at the spiky-brunette.
"Well since you kept Lanseloth with you yesterday, can I play with him when we get up to the treehouse?" Sora asked.
Kairi stared at Sora for a moment before cracking a small smile. "Um...sure Sora, you can play with Lanseloth," Kairi answered.
"Come on Kairi. I thought you said that I could play with Lanseloth once we got up to the treehouse!" Sora whined.
Kairi shot Sora an annoyed glance. The six friends were up inside the treehouse. Whereas Riku, Selphie, Tidus and Wakka crowded infront of the television set watching cartoons, Kairi was occupied with feeding a famished Lanseloth some milk while at the same time being bombarded with whiny complaints from Sora.
"KAAAIRI you promised!" Sora whined.
"Sora! Can't you see that I'm feeding Lanseloth right now? You can't play with Lanseloth while he's eating," Kairi said.
"Well then let me feed him." Sora said persistently, "after all I am his daddy,"
"Yes but I'm the mommy," Kairi said, "and the mommies are supposed to feed the babies and take care of them,"
"So what are the daddies supposed to do?" Sora inquired.
"I dunno. Eat and then lie on the couch all day watching TV," Kairi answered.
"That doesn't sound like fun. I don't wanna do that," Sora said, "I wanna feed the baby. Kairi let me play with Lanseloth. YOU said that I could,"
"YEAH well now I change my mind!" Kairi snapped. Sora pouted.
"KAAAIRI!" Sora whined.
"SOOORA!" Kairi retorted.
"Hey! Some of us are trying to watch TV!" Riku called. He indicated himself, Selphie, Tidus and Wakka who had glanced up to glare at Sora and Kairi at the interruption. Both Sora and Kairi blushed from embarrassment.
"Sorry Riku," Sora said apologetically.
"Look Sora I'm not arguing with you," Kairi said, "I'm already feeding Lanseloth now so GO AWAY!"
Sighing Kairi turned her attention back to Lanseloth. The baby turtle was still drinking from the warm bottle of milk she was feeding him, a contented flush appearing on his pale green cheeks with every slurp he took. Kairi smiled at Lanseloth. Sora, on the other hand, was furious.
The spiky brunette had become silent after Kairi's last remark but it was after two seconds when he spoke again.
(WARNING: If you are currently drinking something please refrain from drinking for the next few sentences are bound to make you die from laughter)
"Are you P.M.Sing Kairi?" Sora asked with an innocent look on his face.
Kairi almost dropped Lanseloth as she turned to gape at Sora. "P.M----WHAT?" she asked.
"P.M.Sing," Sora repeated, "My mommy told me about it. I don't really know what it is but my mommy says that it makes girls CRAZY once a month which is exactly what happens to my mommy. Every month she gets really CRANKY and starts yelling at everyone...well everyone except me since I'm her favourite person,"
"Well I'm not P.M-----whatevering!" Kairi shouted; her cheeks red from anger.
"Well then let me feed Lanseloth," Sora said insistently. He made a grab for Lanseloth but Kairi moved away.
"No Sora!" Kairi shouted.
"Please Kairi!" Sora begged.
"NO!"
"PLEASE!"
"NO!!!!!"
Both Kairi and Sora stood glaring at each other. However their glaring ceased when Lanseloth started to cry.
"Oh Lanseloth, don't cry!" Kairi said calmly, soothingly rocking Lanseloth back and forth.
Eventually Lanseloth calmed down, his lows sobs becoming soft gurgles as he looked into Kairi's eyes.
Kairi smiled at Lanseloth and pinched his cheeks. "There isn't that all better Lanseloth," Kairi said. Lanseloth bobbed his head. Kairi beamed at Lanseloth but her blissful expression changed into an infuriated frown as she turned back to Sora.
"SEE what YOU did Sora! YOU made Lanseloth cry!" Kairi growled.
"NO I didn't! Don't blame everything on ME!" Sora retorted.
"Y'know this is kinda getting good," Tidus said.
"You mean the Woody Woodpecker Show?" Selphie asked.
"No I'm talking about those two," Tidus answered pointing to Kairi and Sora, "I mean this is better than a TV soap opera,"
"I'll say," Wakka said licking his Passion-fruit Popsicle.
"Talk about a lovers' quarrel," Riku sniggered.
"We are NOT quarrelling! Sora is just being silly!" Kairi said.
Sora frowned and folded his arm. "I am NOT being silly!" he shouted. His voice then softened and he looked at Kairi tenderly. "Listen Kairi, just let me feed Lanseloth and I'll leave you alone," Sora said.
"Fine! Go ahead!" Kairi plopped Lanseloth into Sora's hands. "Feed him!" she ordered thrusting the milk bottle infront of Sora's face.
Sora took the bottle from Kairi. "Thank you," he said coolly. Sora held the milk bottle to Lanseloth's mouth. "In you go Lanseloth," Sora said.
Lanseloth planted his mouth on the bottle and started drinking the milk. "There, isn't that nice?" Sora said. Cooing Lanseloth bobbed his head and continued to drink the milk. All the while, Sora was feeding Lanseloth Kairi was frowning at him.
"Is there something the matter Kairi?" Sora asked glancing at the red-head girl.
"Yeah there is. You're holding Lanseloth all wrong!" Kairi said.
"Lanseloth doesn't seem to find it wrong," Sora said.
"Yeah well I'm Lanseloth's mommy so I know what's best for him," Kairi said.
"And I'm Lanseloth's daddy so I know what's best for him too," Sora said coolly.
Kairi's fist clenched tightly. "Sora really you're doing it all WRONG!" Kairi said. She snatched the milk bottle from Sora's hand.
"NO I'm not Kairi! Stop it!" Sora grabbed the bottle back from Kairi however Kairi didn't let him take it back without a fight. A toggle-war broke out between the two friends with either Kairi or Sora tugging hardly at the milk bottle. Both friends continued to pull and pull on the bottle until the bottle slipped out of both their hands and crashed on the floor. SPLATTER! Milk was splattered all over the floor at Kairi and Sora's feet.
"No! The Milk!" Sora bellowed.
"SEE what YOU did! Sora you are such a...a...a GOOFBALL!!" Kairi yelled in Sora's face.
They say that harsh words sting like needles. Sora stared hurtfully into Kairi's face. Tears welded up in his eyes before he started crying. "WAHHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Sora wept.
"Okay! Show's over! I think this has gotten WAY out of hand," Riku said.
"Yeah Sora, don't cry," Selphie said sympathetically while stroking the crying Sora's spiky head to calm him down.
Sora sniffed and wiped away his tears with a grateful smile to Selphie.
Riku turned and frowned at Kairi.
"Kairi that was harsh! Apologize to Sora!" Riku demanded.
"Why should I apologize to Sora?! He was holding Lanseloth all wrong," Kairi said.
"Sora wasn't holding Lanseloth wrong Kairi. YOU just had a problem with it," Riku said.
"So what!" Kairi argued, "Are you saying that I'm the problem?"
"Uh...YEAH!" Riku shouted.
"Kairi no offense but you've been a bit stingy when it comes to Lanseloth," Selphie said.
"No I'm not," Kairi argued. "Gimme Lanseloth!" Kairi grabbed Lanseloth from Sora and hugged him up to her heart. "There you are baby, right back with mommy," Kairi said. She looked to her friends only to see that they were all glaring at her.
"What?" Kairi said.
"See what I mean!" Selphie said, "Every since we came up here all you've done is baby Lanseloth and none of us have gotten a chance to play with him,"
"Well you can't blame me for being clingy," Kairi said, "We almost lost Lanseloth today. Mitchell nearly hurt him. I'm Lanseloth's mommy and I've got to protect him,"
"But you're with us Kairi," Wakka said.
"Yeah we're your friends," Tidus said.
"More importantly we love Lanseloth too. We would NEVER hurt him like Mitchell tried to do, you know that right Kairi?" Sora said.
"Um..." Kairi twiddled her fingers nervously.
"Right?" Sora looked to Kairi with questioning blue eyes.
"..." Kairi didn't answer.
"Kairi...you didn't actually thought that we would actually hurt Lanseloth, right?" Riku asked.
Kairi's lower lip quivered. "I'm sorry Riku but I made a vow to Lanseloth that I'd protect from harm," Kairi said.
"And you ACTUALLY thought that WE would harm Lanseloth?" Riku said feeling offensive.
"I'm sorry guys but Lanseloth is MY baby," Kairi said.
"No he's not! He's not your baby! He's just some turtle that you found on the beach," Tidus said harshly.
"Take that back Tidus!" Kairi snapped.
"No I won't take it back!" Tidus said furiously, "Ever since we got Lanseloth all you've said is 'Lanseloth is MY baby, Lanseloth is MY baby' and that YOU'RE Lanseloth's mommy! Well I'm sick of it! It's really annoying once you think of it,"
Kairi frowned at Tidus.
"Well if you have a problem with me being Lanseloth's mommy then LEAVE Tidus!" Kairi shouted.
Tidus pouted. "GLADLY!" he yelled in Kairi's face, "I'm going home!"
With an annoyed glance at Kairi, Tidus stomped out the door and left the treehouse.
"Tidus!" Sora called behind his friend but it was too late, he was already gone.
"I think I'll head home too," Wakka spoke up.
"What? Not you too Wakka," Riku moped.
"I'm sorry Riku but it's lunchtime anyways and I'm having Chinese today," Wakka said. He then walked out of the treehouse and left.
With both Wakka and Tidus gone, Selphie gave an uneasy laugh. "I'm...gonna go home too," she said and with that she left the treehouse following Tidus.
Now only Riku, Sora and Kairi (with Lanseloth) remained inside the treehouse.
With three of their friends gone home, Riku and Sora turned to Kairi who ignored their angry glances as she tended to Lanseloth. There was an awkward silence between the three but it was Sora who spoke first.
"What's wrong with you Kairi?" Sora asked.
"NOTHING is wrong!" Kairi answered bluntly, "I'm just trying to protect Lanseloth so that he'll stay with me forever,"
"Stay with you forever? Kairi it's touching how you've grown so attached to Lanseloth in the past ONE day but...I hate to be the bringer of bad news but Kairi, Lanseloth is a sea turtle," Riku said.
"So what? He's a baby sea turtle," Kairi said.
"So he is," Riku said, "but Lanseloth isn't going to be a baby forever Kairi. Eventually he'll grow to be an adult sea turtle and adult sea turtles are at least fifty-five meters long which is way too big for that fishbowl you keep him in,"
"So? Even if Lanseloth gets big I'll just get my daddy to buy him an aquarium. Your parents aren't the only rich people on Destiny Islands," Kairi said.
"No that's not the point Kairi," Riku said rubbing his forehead in frustration, "Lanseloth is a green SEA turtle and whether you like it or not Lanseloth is going to have to return to the sea,"
"What!? Lanseloth is NOT gonna return to the sea!" Kairi yelled. This caught Riku and Sora both by surprise and the two backed away from Kairi whose entire face was reddened by anger. "He HAS to STAY with ME because I'M his mommy, right Lanseloth?"
Lanseloth bobbed his head and licked Kairi's finger with a contented coo. Kairi's previously red face turned pick with maternal affection and she gave Lanseloth a light kiss on his green cheeks.
Sora tapped Riku on the shoulder and gave him a 'let me try to reason with her' look with a nod to Kairi. Riku nodded. Sora stepped forward and gently, he placed his hand on Kairi's shoulder and looked at her rationally.
"Kairi, I don't know how to put this without sounding mean but...you're not Lanseloth's mommy, you only think you are," Sora said, "Somewhere out in the big blue sea Lanseloth's real mommy is probably worried sick about him,"
"Humph! Well it serves her right for leaving him all alone on the beach," Kairi snorted.
"Kairi!"
"Don't 'Kairi' me!" Kairi slapped Sora's hand off her shoulder. She then stood looking at both Riku and Sora seriously. "Listen you two I appreciate what you're trying to do but I'm sorry. I love Lanseloth," Kairi looked at the cooing Lanseloth softly, "He's my baby," Kairi said, "and I want him to stay with me FOREVER so if that means keeping him away from the sea then SO be it!"
Kairi plopped Lanseloth inside of his fishbowl and picked it up. "I'm going to the beach!" Kairi screamed at Sora and Riku before stamping out of the treehouse.
"Kairi----"Sora was about to stop Kairi from leaving but Riku stopped him from doing so.
"Let her go Sora," Riku muttered calmly.
"But Riku we can't leave her by herself. She's planning on keeping Lanseloth away from his REAL mommy forever. I mean that's like kidnapping!" Sora said.
"When Kairi calms down then we'll try to reason with her again," Riku said.
"Okay," Sora said, "so...what should we do in the meantime while she's cooling down?"
"Wanna go get some shaved ice?" Riku suggested.
"Sure," Sora answered.
Chapter Ending Synopsis: Uh oh! Looks like Kairi's taking the whole 'being Lanseloth's mom' thing to the extreme! Hopefully Riku and Sora will be able to convince her otherwise but first...SNOW-CONES 8D!!! This part of the story will be concluded in the next chapter: Mother Kairi Part II.
Mistress: YESS!! After days and restless nights of typing away at the keyboard I'm FINALLY finished with this chapter! Now before some of you go off saying 'Mistress it's been like ages since you've updated' let me give you the rundown of why I've been so busy!
One: I had exams for two weeks and I needed to study (but now exams are over, school's out and I'm FREE for the summer XD) and two: I've been SICK for an entire week and I'm STILL sick since I'm updating now D:
But oh well, all my toil paid off and I'm finally finished with this chapter! Now all you gotta do is review
C'mon people send in those reviews and if I get enough reviews for this chapter, I'll update tomorrow 20/07/07 and that's a promise! So you know what you have to do; now press the magical purple button at the bottom of this page...c'mon u know u want that next chapter 8D